Donnelley stumbles in 4Q

Chicago-based printing and communications giant R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.78 per diluted share, or $326.7 million, down from a profit of 13 cents per diluted share, or $27 million, a year earlier.

Net sales were relatively flat, up $13.7 million to $2.72 billion in the fourth quarter from $2.71 billion last year.

The company blamed the loss primarily on a rise in pre-tax charges totaling $483.9 million in the last quarter, compared to pre-tax charges totaling $88.6 million, last year.

Donnelley's non-GAAP earnings in the fourth quarter of 2011 were 46 cents per diluted share, beating estimates of 44 cents per share from analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. Last year, the company's non-GAAP profit was 51 cents per diluted share.